The Morning After In Moscow D+25 (3 August, 1987)

In Moscow, government consolidation efforts were underway in the shadows of the emergency services and civil defense operations going on around the remains of the Kremlin and Lubyanka. Even this was limited and dependent upon radiological readings. By 0000 Zulu (0400 Moscow time), the areas giving off the highest readings were predictably those immediately around …

Today’s Friend, Tomorrow’s Enemy D+24 And Beyond: Poland

After forty-plus years of submission to Moscow, Eastern Europe decoupled from the Soviet orbit in the aftermath of World War III. The wounds and trauma inflicted on the satellite states from 9 July through early August, 1987 served as a spark on the powder keg Eastern Europe had become in the previous decade. In retrospect …

Post War Geopolitics: Unfinished Business

In early August of 1987 the Third World War came to an end. The guns fell silent, strategic forces came off their high alert statuses and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. In the final twenty-four hours of the war the planet teetered on the edge of the abyss with the United States …

Today’s Friend, Tomorrow’s Enemy D+24 And Beyond Part II

In the twenty-four-hour period following the destruction of the Kremlin and Lubyanka, the troika made up of Vladimir Dolgikh, Viktor Chebrikov and Sergei Akhromeyev took stock of the Herculean task before them. Foremost was affirming the temporary cessation of hostilities between the Soviet Union and United States, as well as her NATO allies. The first …

Today’s Friend, Tomorrow’s Enemy D+24 And Beyond Part I

As 2 August, 1987 pressed on towards its climactic conclusion, it was becoming evident that if the world survived the dangerous and rapid escalation then underway, the domestic political dynamic of the Soviet Union, and the geopolitical dynamic of Eastern Europe would appear quite different in the immediate postwar days and weeks. In hindsight the …

Poland On The Last Day D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part II

D+24 continued on and the air of impending doom circulated around Poland. With the vast number of Soviet airbases, supply depots, headquarters and other military bases on Polish soil, an overwhelming majority of Poles expected their country to be next. News of additional nuclear explosions in the GDR and West Germany enhanced the panic. Shelters …

Poland On The Last Day D+24 (2 August, 1987)

It did not take long for word of Wunsdorf’s destruction to reach in Poland. Owing to time and circumstances, the first people to learn of the nuclear event were members of the Polish military stationed in and around Legnica. On the surface these Poles remained loyal to the Soviet Union and thus were trusted, albeit …

Death Knell Of The Pact D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part II

The other Warsaw Pact member-states saw the writing on the wall. As the Third World War continued along on a trajectory of perilous escalation as D+24 went on, some Pact governments were making desperate efforts to jettison affiliations to the Soviet Union in the hope it would spare their nations from nuclear fire. Others adopted …

Death Knell Of The Pact D+24 (2 August, 1987) Part I

Wünsdorf was chosen as a target because of its military relevance. The East German town played host to the peacetime headquarters of Group Soviet Forces Germany and was positioned high on NATO’s target list. Many East German military officers and government officials were aware that Wünsdorf would be targeted in the event of a limited …

Politics of Global War: Diplomacy Resumes D+25 (3 August, 1987)

The first meeting between US and Soviet diplomats took place at a Swiss industrialist’s estate on the shores of Lake Geneva. Security was provided by Swiss Federal Police and specially trained detachments of soldiers from the Swiss armed forces. The world media was made aware of a meeting between US and Soviet officials set for …